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I don’t answer that. Instead, I kneel down and peek under the door. The crack isn’t big enough for me to see anything, but I can hear a little better down on the floor.
Voices drift from another room, but I can’t make out any of the words. I also can’t tell who Peter’s talking to. It could be either Nadia or Dakota.
There’s a third voice. Another girl. It doesn’t belong to anyone in the family.
My blood runs cold.
Someone else’s kid is here.
I want to scream for both girls to leave, but I can’t. The only way to keep them safe is to keep Jane and her knife in the laundry room.
She wiggles the knob.
“What are you doing?” I leap to my feet and shove her away from the door.
“We can’t stay in here forever!”
“Did you hear me? There arekidsout there.”
“So?”
She makes me want to pull out my hair. I press myself against the door. “We aren’t going anywhere.”
“The kids will take off once they see the danger. They aren’t stupid. Trust me—I know all too well how much adults underestimate children. The ones who did that to me paid the ultimate price.”
A shiver runs down my spine. What was I thinking, letting this nut job into my home? I, too, underestimated her.
I need to think of a way to keep everyone safe from her.
Fast.
“Move.” She reaches around me for the doorknob.
“I have an idea.”
“What?” Her fingers dig deep into my back.
I gasp and push her away. At least the weapon is still in her pocket.
She glares at me. “This better be good.”
“Let me get rid of the girls, then we’ll confront Peter.” Plus, it will give me the added benefit of being able to snag a knife of my own.
Jane narrows her eyes. “What are you going to tell him?”
“That the girls need to leave.”
“I mean about me.”
“Obviously, I’m not going to mention you. He doesn’t know you’re here, and he doesn’t need to. We need that element of surprise for later.”
Jane frowns. “I guess you have a point.”
Good. She’s going along with my plan.
“Although I could go out there instead of you.”
“What?”
